My Hero Academia‘s second big feature film effort has now made its way outside of Japan to the United States and Canada thanks to Funimation, and now fans all over have experienced everything that My Hero Academia: Heroes Rising has to offer. One of the most enticing elements of the film ever since it was announced was that series creator Kohei Horikoshi revealed that the story here was once a concept he had for the official ending of the series. This became even more compelling ever since Izuku Midoriya and Katsuki Bakugo were placed front and center in all the advertising for the film.
The rivalry between the two of them has shifted over the course of the series (especially following the events of the Hero License Exam arc), but My Hero Academia: Heroes Rising takes their working relationship to a whole new level — especially for the final fight in the film. Speaking with ComicBook.com’s Megan Peters the voices behind Midoriya and Bakugo, Justin Briner and Clifford Chapin, opened up about their feelings in that scene.
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Warning! Major spoilers for My Hero Academia: Heroes Rising below! Read at your own risk!
As Izuku Midoriya and Katsuki Bakugo pushed their powers to the limit against the new villain Nine, the two of them work together in an even more explosive way than expected. But although Chapin noted that he knew it was coming, it still had an impact, “I knew about it. I watched the movie before we recorded it, so I was aware of how the movie ends, but it was…the ending of this movie is phenomenal. It’s probably going to be one of my favorite moments that I’ve gotten to portray as him, and probably will be for a long time.”
As for Briner, he was in awe over seeing how their relationship played a role in this finale, “They have such a complicated history together ever since they were tiny kids, and things that are ingrained in you at that age stick around for a long time. I think it’s been pretty cool to see them work through this stuff, in their own ways…[T]here’s the climactic moment with both of them fighting together, and I think that’s really special because it’s the first time they’ve kind of teamed up in a meaningful way and a lot of fans have been looking for that kind of content.”
Although Briner also knew what was coming, like Chapin, he was in awe as well, “I did know a little about the final moment, but knowing about it and seeing it are two completely different things in this case and I was just blown away.” But seeing the response to that final fight, it seems fans have felt the same way about it as the stars!
Have you checked out My Hero Academia: Heroes Rising yet? If so, what did you think? Do you plan on seeing the movie at all? Ready to see more of Midoriya and Bakugo’s teamwork? Let us know your thoughts in the comments or talk to me directly about all things anime and other cool things @Valdezology on Twitter!